Research Update: Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. Unsecured Debt Rating Raised To 'B+', Recovery Rating Revised To '3' On Debt Repayment

Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. made an additional senior secured debt repayment of about $607 million in the first half of 2022, bringing the company's secured debt total to $845 million. As a result, S&P Global Ratings raised its issue-level rating on the company's unsecured debt to 'B+' from 'B' and revised its recovery rating on the debt to '3' from '5'. We also affirmed our 'BB' issue-level rating, with a '1' recovery rating on the company's senior secured debt, and affirmed our 'B-' issue-level rating, with a '6' recovery rating, on the company's subordinated debt. The 'B+' issuer credit rating and positive outlook on Cleveland-Cliffs are unchanged. The positive outlook reflects that we could upgrade the company if the company continues reducing

...- Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. made an additional senior secured debt repayment of about $607 million in the first half of 2022, bringing the company's secured debt total to $845 million. - As a result, S&P Global Ratings raised its issue-level rating on the company's unsecured debt to 'B+' from 'B' and revised its recovery rating on the debt to '3' from '5'. - We also affirmed our '##' issue-level rating, with a '1' recovery rating on the company's senior secured debt, and affirmed our 'B-' issue-level rating, with a '6' recovery rating, on the company's subordinated debt. - The 'B+' issuer credit rating and positive outlook on Cleveland-Cliffs are unchanged. - The positive outlook reflects that we could upgrade the company if the company continues reducing debt such that we expect adjusted leverage will remain below 2x over the next couple of years....

Research Update